The Christmas Closet....

After writing about "The Fight With The Christmas Tree" (see posting below) and the reference to Cindy Clark's Christmas closet, it was only fitting that we show everyone a photo of the infamous place where holiday decor goes into hibernation for the year at her house.

The Fight With The Christmas Tree

For those of you that know Brad's mom - you know that Brad grew up in a house that was truly decked-out for the holidays and why Cindy Clark had a custom closet built in their new home to house all her holiday decor. So, of course, not decorating (despite the fact it was only going to be the two of us this year) was not an option. Well, we put up not one, but TWO christmas trees, stockings, christmas knick-knacks and the traditional door wreath. And as it usually goes, it ended up taking us about 3 weeks after Christmas to take it all down. This year I thought I would be smart and buy a storage bag for our artificial tree as opposed to wrapping it in large black trash bags. Now, you would think that the concept of taking down a fake tree and putting it into a bag is a pretty simple concept, but not so much. Just imagine for moment an ordinary gym duffle bag - now multiply the size of that bag by lets say 100....this was the size of our tree bag that I bought. The first thought that came to both of us was "that bag is huge - the tree will go right in without any problems." Lets just put it this way, after about an hour of fighting with the tree, bag and each other -it finally went in.....all that was left to figure out was where the giant gym bag was going to be stored....I guess the custom holiday closet does not look so stupid now!

A South Carolina Thanksgiving

This year, everyone descended to South Carolina to celebrate Thanksgiving at our house. We really had a great time with my Dad, Michelle, Dagen and Barry. It was Michelle and Dagen's first time to our house and the first time Brad and I have seen Michelle since she became pregnant (we will be an Aunt and Uncle come February!!). Also, one of the highlights of the trip was my dad's "dazzling aerobatic moves" in Falls Park - you just had to be there!!

An 80's Halloween

This year's resident Halloween bash at The Bailey's was an 80's themed party. Brad went as a greasy, 80's tennis star (complete with gold chain, aviators and matching head and wristbands). I went as a wannabe 80's popstar - leggings and all. Chris Bailey showed us all how to "work-it" Richard Simmons-style, while Dave Coykendall brought back Miami Vice.

Scotland - A Clark Family Vacation

Well, this past September the Clark Clan descended on Scotland for a family vacation.

To say the least, it was fantastic. Scotland truly lived up to all that Brad and I hoped that it would be. We spent a little over a week there and had the opportunity to do many things. We stayed in Pitlochry - a great town in the central part of the country. We visited just about every castle in the region, learned how to drive on the opposite side of the road (and voted as a family that Tom Clark was not allowed to drive), learned how to blow glass, discovered how whiskey is made at Edradour Distrillery - one of the smallest in the world, stayed at a beautiful former manor home (large white home in picture), toured the country side, attended the Highland Games and had time for some shopping (of course). All together, it was a wonderful trip not only to see where Brad's ancestry came from, but to enjoy it all with family.

Ode To Journey....The Greatest Band EVER!

This last week I had the opportunity to reconnect with one of my dearest high-school friends that I (without excuse) lost touch with over the years. It was so awesome catching up with her and in tribute to our friendship I had to post this picture which, ironically I had to take while in LA this past May. So, Tina if you read this I hope you remember the good old days of riding around in "Priscilla" without air conditioning and blaring Journey on the portable tape player because the one in the car was broken , of course.

The Ashmore Lectureship

Drs. Coykendall, Mittelstaedt, Clark & Bailey

The Ashmore Lectureship is the "big" event of the year for the surgical residents of Greenville Memorial Hospital. This event occurs every June where the program bids goodbye to the fifth year residents as they depart to start their own practices or fellowship. For the ladies, its an opportunity to dress-up! Here are a few pics: Brad and the guys in his year and one of the wives.

Jess Bailey, Ginny Coykendall & Mariam Clark

The Meat Doctors

So the actual doctors decided to compete as "The Meat Doctors" in one of the Southeast's biggest BBQ Festivals this past June - The Blue Ridge BBQ Festival to be exact. To sum up the weekend's events: Personalized team scrubs $200; Awesome BBQ prepared by our very own "Master Baster" $400; Team Signage $30; Watching Dr. Matt McCreary spin around on top of a piece of plywood like a breakdancer....PRICELESS!

Glendale or Beverly Hills....Is There a Difference?

Well, as some of you may know, Brad and I recently took a trip out to California to visit family and do a little vacationing. We spent some time in LA, Glendale (because according to my grandparents, Glendale is not the same as LA) and San Diego. Here are a few pics from the trip.

Welcome....We Finally Caved In

Hello family and friends....welcome to our new blog. Well, we finally caved in and decided to create one of these things since it seems that we are the only ones that do not have one! So, now all our family and friends can keep in touch and see what's going on with us in Greenville, SC!! We miss each and every one of you - our door is always open whenever anyone wants to come check out this part of the country! Take Care till next time.